Quareia—The Adept

Module X—The True Adept

Lesson 4: Sed II
by Josephine McCarthy
 Quareia

Welcome

Welcome to this lesson of the Quareia curriculum.

The Quareia takes a magical apprentice from the beginning of magic to the level
of adeptship and beyond. The course has no superfluous text; there is no
dressing, no padding—everything is in its place and everything within the
course has a good reason to be there.

For more information and all course modules please visit

www.quareia.com

So remember—in order for this course to work, it is wise to work with the
lessons in sequence. If you don’t, it won’t work.

Yours,
 Quareia—The Adept
Module X—The True Adept

Lesson 4: Sed II

Her father Amon hath established her great name; Makare

upon the august Ished tree; her annals are myriads of years,
possessing life, stability, and satisfaction. Son of Re, Khnemet-
Amon, Hatshepsut, beloved of Amon-Re, king of gods. She
celebrated for him the first occurrence of the royal jubilee, in
order that she may be given life forever.
—J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two.

The second round of tests will push your inner ability to hold and
transmit knowledge and utterance, and to uphold the line of knowledge
as it passes down through the generations. It will also test your ability to
hold and release the Divine utterance as a mediator. All these skills are
of utmost importance for an adept.

Such work is a major part of being an adept. The body, mind, and soul
must be able to accept, hold, and release such power in equal measure,
without interfering with it, grabbing it, or twisting it. The body must be
strong enough to hold that power briefly, and to stand tall in the face of
the whirlwind.

In the last round of tests, your ability to operate as an adept in the

physical world was tested. Now your ability to operate as an adept in the
inner worlds is to be tested. Both king and adept must undertake both
 Quareia—The Adept: Module x, Lesson 4

sides of the work, and possess the strength, endurance, and intelligence
to bring those two ‘thrones’ together harmonically.

A major part of the test is the ability to “hold the Book,” i.e. the Book
of Knowledge that lies on the east altar of the Inner Temple that is the
collection of all magical knowledge past, present, and future. All the
wisdom, experience, discoveries, techniques, methods, and actions are
held together in this one vessel which presents to us as a huge, heavy
book. It is the sum total of the Inner Library, all held together in one
condensed place. You yourself have contributed to this vessel, and you
have also dipped into it as you walked your path to adepthood.

Though the test appears in vision as one of strength and endurance, it

also tests whether you as a ‘container’ are capable of holding this vessel’s
contents, and thus becoming a bridge for it. If you succeed then then you
will be tested further, to see if you can cope with the raw power behind
the Book: the whirlwind.

You have trained for this for a long time. You were exposed to various
forms of this power in increments, so that you could learn to recognise
it, partake a little of its power, and learn how to contain some of its
knowledge in your body and mind. All those different exercises and
workings slowly built your inner and outer muscle, so that now, as an
adept, you can partake fully of that Book and be a responsible guardian
for it. It is not enough that you can contain its power and release it; you
must also understand the ramifications of its power when misused.

That understanding does not come from being told about it; it comes
from holding it and slowly realising just what it is—and what it can do
in the right and wrong hands. That understanding will unfold for you in
layers, and will continue to unfold throughout your life as an adept.

Like the other tests, this one also happens in vision, so that it gets to
the heart of your power and spirit. Like the other tests, it will manifest in
some outer form that is right and individual for you.

If the tests were externalised ritually then it would hobble the power’s
ability to unfold in a unique way for you, which would be too much
filtering. Rather, the vision triggers and challenges, and the power then
flows through you in a way that will trigger some latent dynamics around
you. Your outer test will come, usually when you least expect it, and in a
form not immediately recognisable.

You may be tired from your previous tests, but you must go straight
on and do these next tests without more than a day or two’s break. The

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longer you leave it, the more you run the risk of the whole thing failing.
So if you are tired, suck it up.

The trial of the Ished

Set up your working space, light the lights, and open the gates. Sit in
the centre, before the central altar, and be still. When you are still and
silent, get up and start circling the room around the altar. As you circle,
be aware of the Gathering circling with you.

As the power of the circling strengthens, be aware of the Inner Temple;

and be aware that you are appearing in the Inner Temple, circling the
central altar. When that awareness is strong, sit by the central altar, facing
south, with the altar before you, and close your eyes.

In vision, see yourself in the Inner Temple. You will pick up where
you left off in the last vision, sitting deep in stillness in the Inner Temple,
facing the south wall, having just finished the trials in the Desert.

The priest of Ptah appears beyond the south wall and points to his
right (your left), to the small entrance to the egregore, out of which the
water pours that flows around the Inner Temple.

Go to the egregore. As you walk through the tunnel of water to get

there, the water gets stronger, faster, and deeper. Push against it and
climb up out of the roots of the tree: stand before the great tree on the
island. Look at the lake, and at the beings mediating the utterance from
the Void into the lake.

The tree speaks: “is your Djed strong?”

You answer: “Yes, my Djed is strong. Life and power flow around it,
by the power of Ptah.”

“Show me your forehead,” says the tree.

Lift your left hand to your forehead and feel the lightning flash’s mark.
Your skin is still red and raised.

The tree asks: “Have you run the boundaries?”

You answer: “Yes, I ran the boundaries, I outran the bull.”

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The tree asks: “Did you shoot the arrows of Neith to the four direc-
tions?”

You answer: “Yes, I vanquished destruction, I cleared the thresholds,

the directions are clear.”

The tree speaks: “Come to me, beloved of Ma’at, so that I may listen
to your heart.”

Put your arms around the tree in an embrace and press your chest
to the tree, so that she can feel your heart beating. You begin to feel
an exchange happening between your heart and the tree—she is asking
the spirit of your heart if you indeed speak in truth. When you feel the
exchange subside, stand back and bow to the tree.

The tree speaks: “You did indeed speak in truth. I give you save
passage through my waters. The spirit of the water will record your
footsteps and report back to me. When you have finished, when you
have faced the whirlwind, return to me.”

Bow once more to her and return to the Inner Temple. As you wade
through the water, be aware that the water is listening, feeling into your
feet, and its mind is following your every move.

Once you reenter the Inner Temple, circle the central altar and observe
the flame raised above it: it is working. The priest of Ptah is still standing
beyond the south wall, and as you look around the walls, which have all
turned translucent, you notice that the deities are all standing waiting to
witness something.

You can also hear the beginnings of faint chanting: the seven companions
are on the other side of the door that leads to the Inner Library, and are
chanting the power of the Library to the walls and doors of the Inner
Temple. They are surrounding you with the voice of the Library.

Then you notice Wepwawet sitting by the Library door, guarding it

so that none may enter. The voices of the companions become stronger,
and the Inner Temple starts to resonate like a bell. The power of the bell
at your throat vibrates in unison with the vibrations in the Inner Temple,
and you open your mouth. Out of you comes a sound beyond hearing,
high and low, silent yet loud. Within its sounds is the sum total of all
your knowledge.

Go to the east altar. Place your hands on the great book and look at
the airgap. The chants fall silent, and the whole Inner Temple becomes
still and silent. Listen.

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A breeze blows over your face from the airgap, and a faint sound can
be heard travelling towards you slowly. As soon as you hear the sound,
no matter how faint it is, pick up the large, heavy Book of Knowledge.

As soon as the Book leaves contact with the altar, the water channel on
the floor, the one that runs around the walls of the temple, widens and
deepens. The whole Inner Temple sanctum seems to grow larger and
larger, and the water becomes a stream of fast-moving water that runs
around the four directions of the space. The sanctum grows and grows
until it is the size of the boundary space that you ran in the Desert.

Step back a step until you are standing in the fast-flowing water. It
pulls at your feet. Turn to your left, to face the north wall, and start to
walk in the water, holding the Book tightly to your chest. You must walk
briskly while fighting the current of the water, and keeping the Book close
to your chest. The Book starts to get heavier and heavier as you walk, and
it feels like it is pulling the breath out of your body.

As you walk, the voice of the priest of Ptah echoes around the
chamber. “Move quickly!”

Four times you must march the boundaries of the Inner Temple; four
times you must stop at the east altar and place your forehead to the altar
stone; four times you must breathe in the breath of the airgap. You must
do all this before the sound in the distance arrives and fills the space.

Walk quickly. Follow the water around the now vast space where the
walls are the boundaries, and the water is your path. The Book continues
to get heavier and heavier, and pulls the wind from your lungs as you
walk. The first time you reach the east altar, bow, place your forehead
briefly on the altar stone, then breathe in the air from the airgap, which
will replenish your lungs.

Set off again and walk the boundaries, pushing against the water,
which feels like it is trying to drag you under. Your arms are really
starting to hurt now, and the breath is pulled from your body, leaving
your lungs screaming for air until you reach the east again, touch the
stone with your forehead, and breathe in the air.

For the third time you set off. The sound in the far distance is getting
nearer and nearer. You must succeed in carrying the Book four times
around the boundaries before the sound fills the space. For the third
time you touch your head to the altar and breath in the air. The sound is
getting louder and louder. Soon it will arrive through the airgap.

Set off for the fourth time and carry the Book around the boundaries.

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Do not stop! And do not drop it, even if your arms are about to collapse.
Keep going. Keep pushing, even though your lungs are empty of air. For
the fourth time, place your forehead on the altar stone, breathe in, and
place the Book back on the altar stone. Your arms feel broken, and your
lungs ache from the strain and the lack of air.

The noise has become louder and louder. Look up at the airgap.
Breathe in. As you breathe in, a terrible noise screams through the airgap
and the east wall seems to vanish: all there is is a vast whirlwind.

The noise fills the temple: you hear all the sounds that were ever
made, all words ever spoken, all music ever created. All is there in the
voice of the whirlwind. The wind blows hard against your face, taking
the breath from your body and blowing hard against you so that you
must lean into it to stay upright.

The wind is filled with a terrible power, and all your internal alarms
start screaming for you to run. But you must not run. Become still,
become silent. Let the whirlwind blow at you. Do not struggle with your
body to stay upright: remember your Djed. You are stable. The stability
of the Djed, your spine, keeps you upright in the face of terrible power.

A voice flows from the wind. “Why do you not bend in my presence?”

You answer: “I have the Djed, I have stability, I am the tree trunk that
flows from the stars to the Underworld.”

The voice says: “Why do you not die as my power confronts yours?”

You answer: “Because I am Ankh; I am life.”

The voice says: “Why do you not run in fear of me?”

You answer: “Because I have Was, I have the strength to Know You.”

The voice says: “How do you know me?”

You place your hands on the Book and say: “I have knowledge, I have
carried the Book in my heart, I have breathed the Book with my lungs,
I have held the Book in my arms. I am Justified. I Know you as I Know
Myself.”

Bow deeply to the wind, which fills you and fills the space all around
you. The whirlwind fills the Inner Temple. Its voice blocks out all other
sound, its air blocks out all other air, and it blows with great power all
around your body. Be still. Be silent, and stand in the centre of the
whirlwind. Be the whirlwind. Merge with the whirlwind. Become the

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whirlwind.

Be aware of your hands on the Book. Be aware of the whirlwind

all around you and within you, as part of you. Focus on the book and
nothing else. There is nothing else in the universe except the Book of
Knowledge. Focus. Be still. Feel the whirlwind getting tighter around
you, until it flows through you and into the book. In one sudden,
loud, screaming noise, the whirlwind funnels itself through your body,
through your arms, into the Book.

The Inner Temple falls silent. The deities still surround the temple,
looking through the translucent walls and watching. Look at the Book.
glowing with power. Open the Book. On the first page is a series of hiero-
glyphs and symbols. Look at them. See the symbols change to words you
can understand. Read them.

Awake being rested, may you awake in peace! May Amun

wake in life and peace.

Place your hands on the words and let them seep into you. When the
transfer is complete, close the book, bow to the east, and return through
the water and the small entrance to the egregore.

Emerge from beneath the tree roots and stand before the tree. Tell
her that you have carried the Book, you have survived the test of inner
strength, and you have read the Book’s opening words.

The voice of the tree answers you, and greets you as an adept of the
Mysteries. She tells you to look at her leaves: one is glowing. She tells
you that once you have taken the final test and succeeded, your name
will appear on that leaf, inscribed by the gods, and held for all time as an
adept of the deepest Mysteries, servant of Ma’at, beloved of Ma’at, one
with the power of the bee and the bull, one who has carried the Book,
who is worthy of its contents.

Now look at the other leaves. You will see the names of people on
them, other adepts and adept kings, men and women, throughout time,
those who have also taken the arduous tasks and successfully completed
them.

She tells you to drink of the water of the Lake of the Mysteries. Kneel
before the lake and cup some of its water in your hands. Before you drink,
utter over the water: “I drink from the living waters of wisdom.” Take
the water into yourself, water that is filled with the utterances of creation
and the knowledge of all that has ever been and ever will be.

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Once you have drunk of the waters, place your forehead to the ground
and let your mind touch the earth. Briefly, you and the inner land are one
thought. Get up, bow to the lake, then again to the tree. Then return to
the Inner Temple.

As you reenter the Inner Temple you will see that back to its normal
size again. It is then that you realise that the walls of the temple are not
fixed, but expand and contract as necessary, according to the power they
need to contain.

Look at the walls. The deities are still standing looking through the
walls. Bow to them. They will wait while you rest before taking the next
step towards completion. Sit before the central altar. See the priest of
Ptah, still beyond the south wall. He too will wait and witness until the
whole process is completed.

Be still and silent. Bathe in the stillness and peace of the Inner Temple.
Then, leaving part of yourself there, open your eyes, come out of vision,
and sit in the magical space in stillness and silence.

When you are ready, get up and put out the lights, but leave the gates
open. Bow to the room as you leave, and go rest. There is much work
yet to be done, and your endurance is being tested to its limit. Rest when
you can.

Figure 1: Tree of kingship

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Quareia—The Adept: Module x, Lesson 4

Figure 2: Ished Tree, Ramses II

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Quareia—The Adept: Module x, Lesson 4

Figure 3: Ished Tree, Ramses II

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 Quareia—The Adept: Module x, Lesson 4

Invocation Hymn

Open to me, O heaven,

Mother of the Gods!
Let me see the barque of Re,
He going up and down in it.
Open to me, mistress of spirits!
Open to me, O primal heaven!
O, you seven kings,
O, you seven Montus;
Bull who engenders, lord of awe,
Who illuminates the earth;
Soul of the primeval waters,
Hail Nun, great one, lofty one!
Hail, soul of the ram!
Hail, soul of souls!
Open to me; I am the opener of the earth,
Who came forth from Geb.

To finish this lesson, read this story and think about it. On the surface
it is just a wild tale to be told on a boring night. But beneath the basic
story lies a much deeper magical account of something.

The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor

May your heart prosper, my master. Behold, we have reached home. The
mallet having been taken, the mooring post is driven in. The bow-rope
having been placed on land, thanksgiving and praise to god are given.
Everyone is embracing his companions. Our crew returned safely; there
was no loss to our army. We have reached the end of Wawat; we have
passed Senmut.

Behold, we have come in peace, our land we have reached.

Let me tell you the like thereof, it having happened to me, myself.

I was going to the mine of the king. I went down to the sea in a ship of
one hundred and twenty cubits in length and forty cubits in width. One

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hundred and twenty sailors were in it of the choicest of Egypt. Whether

they looked at the sky or they looked at the land, their hearts were braver
than lions. They could foretell a storm before it came, foul weather before
it occurred.

The storm came while we were on the sea, before we approached the
land. While we were sailing it made a continuous howling, raising a
wind. Waves were in it of eight cubits. A piece of wood struck it for
me.

Then I was cast upon an island by a wave of the sea. I spent three days
alone, my heart as my only companion. Resting in the shelter of a tree, I
embraced the shade.

Then I stretched out my legs to know what I could place in my mouth.

I found figs and grapes there. Leeks were ruler there. Sycamore figs
were there together with notched Sycamore figs. Cucumbers were there
as though cultivated. Fish were there together with birds. There was
nothing that was not within it.

Then I satisfied myself and I placed some of it on the ground because

it was too much upon my hands. I took a fire drill and made fire and
made a sacrifice.

And then I heard the voice of a storm or the hungry voice of the raging
storm strike! What was it moving quickly, fast approaching, landing right
before me. I thought that it was a wave of the sea or people taking refuge
from the waves in the mouth of the channel. Trees broke and the earth
shook. What is this in the water? Facing the division of the breakers I
crouched, as it was quickly coming and approaching quickly. I covered
my face; we are found.

I uncovered my face and found that it was a snake that was coming.
It was thirty cubits long. His beard, it was greater than two cubits long.
His body was overlaid with gold. His eyebrows were real lapis lazuli. He
was bent up in front. He opened his mouth to me while I was on my belly
in his presence. He said to me, “Who brought you? Who brought you,
commoner, who brought you? If you fail to tell me who brought you to
this island I will cause you to know yourself, you being as ashes having
become as one who is not seen.”

You are speaking to me, but I do not hear it. I am in your presence but
I am ignorant of myself.

Then he placed me in his mouth and took me to his dwelling, his place
of happiness, and set me down untouched, I being uninjured, nothing

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being taken from me. He opened his mouth to me while I was on my

belly in his presence.

Then he said to me, “Who has brought you, Who has brought you,
commoner? Who has brought you to this island in the sea whose sides
are in the water?”

Then I answered him this, my arms bent in respect in his presence.

I said to him, “I was going to the mine of the king in a ship of one
hundred twenty cubits in length and forty cubits in width. One hundred
twenty sailors were in it of the choicest of Egypt. Whether they looked
at the sky or whether they looked at land, their hearts were braver than
lions. They could foretell a storm before it came, foul weather before it
occurred. Every one of them, his heart was braver, his arm stronger, than
his companions. There was none ignorant in their midst. The storm came
while we were on the sea, before we approached the land. While we were
sailing it made a continuous howling. Waves were in it of eight cubits. A
piece of wood struck it for me. Then the boat died and of those in it not
one remained therein, except me. Behold, I am at your side. Then I was
cast upon this island by a wave of the sea.”

He said to me, “Do not fear, do not fear, commoner. Do not blanch
your face since you have reached me. Behold, it is god who caused you
to live, he brought you to this island of ka. There is nothing that is not
within it; it is filled with all good things. Behold you shall do month
upon month until you complete four months from home on this island.
A ship will come from home with sailors in it whom you know. You will
go home with them and you will die in your city. Happy is he who tells
what he has tasted, a painful thing having passed by. Let me tell you the
like there of which occurred on this island in which I was on it with my
brothers, and children were in the midst of them.

We totalled seventy-five snakes, my children together with my brothers;

I will not mention to you a little daughter whom I had obtained by prayer.
Then a star fell, and these went up in flame because of it. It happened
that I was not with them when they burned. I was not among them. I
was dead to them and would have died for them when I found them a
heap of corpses all together. If you are strong, subduing your heart, you
will fill your embraces with your children, you will kiss your wife, you
will see your house. It is more beautiful than anything. You will reach
the residence of your homeland in which you were in it together with
your companions.”

Having stretched out on my belly, I touched the ground in his presence.

I said to him, “I will speak of you, I will relate your power to the king, I

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will cause him to know of your greatness. I will cause to be brought to

you laudanum heknu oil, yudenbu, hesayt spice, incense of great temples
which pleases all of the gods in it. I will relate what has happened to me,
what I saw of his power. One will praise god for you in the city before the
magistrates of the entire land. I will slaughter for you bulls as sacrifices.
I will offer to you fowl. I will cause to be sent to you ships loaded with
the provisions of every town in Egypt, as is done for a god who loves a
people in a distant land not known to the people.”

Then he laughed at me for what I said was foolishness to him. He said

to me, “You are not rich in myrrh being an owner of incense. It is I who
am the lord of Punt and the myrrh, it belongs to me. And the incense that
you spoke of bringing, it is abundant on this island. When it happens that
you leave this place, it will not occur that you will see this island again,
it having become water.”

Then, in time, that boat came like what he had predicted before hand.
Then I went and placed myself in a high tree and I recognised those in it.
Having gone to report it, I found that he knew it. Then he said to me,

“Health, Health, commoner, to your house so that you may see your
children. Make my name good in your town, that is my due from you.”

Then I placed myself upon my belly my arms bent in respect before

him. Then he gave to me a quantity of myrrh, heknu oil, laudanum,
hesayt spice, tishpes spice, perfume, eye-paint, giraffes’ tails, great lumps
of incense, elephants’ tusks, greyhounds, monkeys, baboons and all
kinds of precious things. Then I loaded them upon this boat. It happened
as I placed myself on my belly to give thanks to him that he said to me,
“Behold, you will approach home in two months. You will be full, you
will embrace your children, you will be young in the home where you
will be buried.”

Then I went down to the river bank in the neighbourhood of this boat.
Then I called to the sailors who were in this boat. I gave praise upon the
bank to the lord of this land, and those in it did likewise. It was a sailing
which we did downstream to the palace of the king. We approached the
residence after two months which he had said completely. Then I entered
in before the sovereign and I brought to him the gifts which I had brought
out of this island. Then he gave praise to me before the magistrates of the
land to its ends. Then I was made a follower and I was endowed with
two hundred people. See me after I returned to the land after I saw what
I tasted. Listen to my mouth; it is good for people to listen.

It is done from its beginning to its end, as it was found in writing, a

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scribe excellent with his fingers, Imenyâs son Imena.

—tr. W.K. Flinders Petrie, 1892.

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Quareia

Copyright
© Josephine McCarthy 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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